


Hitting The Brakes

by ohhhello



Category: Superstore (TV)
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 18:36:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18666070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohhhello/pseuds/ohhhello
Summary: When Glenn calls Amy an hour and a half before opening to ask her to cover for him, she hurriedly rushes to make it to the store in time. She runs into trouble when the winter weather picks up, black ice leaving her with car trouble. Jonah’s the only person who she can think of to come to her rescue.





	Hitting The Brakes

When Glenn called her at three thirty in the morning in a congested, delirious rut, Amy knew it was going to be a long day. No amount of Keurig k-cup coffee could fix her sour mood as she prepared to go in at five in the morning as snow flurries fell from the sky. Snow was great and all, but being called to go in on a day in which she wasn’t scheduled because of her boss’s head cold as it snowed was less great. 

Amy quickly jumped in a warm shower and partially blow dried her hair so it was still damp but just dry enough to blast with heat in her car. She kissed Emma on her forehead as she slept and was out of the door in forty five minutes—it was her new personal best. 

That morning Amy had been Glenn’s first call as his assistant manager was out for the week. Dina wasn’t known to be out much at all but she had been invited by her bird owner support group to attend a bird watcher’s cruise. Why bird watchers got on a boat in the middle of the ocean—a location not known for having a large bird populace—for a week, only to occasionally take stops at small islands in order to see a bird for an hour so was mind boggling to her. Well, if anyone deserved to attend a bird watching cruise it was Dina, Amy supposed. 

It took her car a full fifteen minutes to warm up as she ran back and forth from her house getting hot water from her sink to clear up her windows of frost; honestly it was less of frost and more like a dense sheet of ice. It was usually never this cold in late March, Amy noted. Stupid global warming. 

When she was finally able to get in her car and leave her house, the winter weather began to pick up. She had heard that they were expecting a fair amount of snow in St. Louis, “Thank god I’m not scheduled to work tomorrow,” she had told Emma when they had settled in on the couch watching the evening news the night prior. 

The weather had began minimally at around one in the morning, ice trucks hadn’t made it to her morning route by five—or so it had seemed. Not only was the snow an issue, but black ice was also supposed to be prevalent in the early hours. “If you can stay home, stay home!” The weather lady had said flashing her pearly white TV smile and letting out a light chuckle. It was a Saturday morning and Amy was not here for it. 

Her drive seemed to be going swimmingly, that was until some jackass in a busted Jeep pulled out of a gas station right in front of her without looking. She slammed on her brakes. “Hey asshole, what the hell?!”She shouted in her car with the windows rolled up. Her words would never reach their target, but she yelled it nonetheless. 

In her moment of outrage as she tried to look at the face of the idiot who had just pulled that bold move, but her car had decelerated right into a patch of black ice. Within a few measly seconds her car had ended up in a shallow ditch. Amy had been completely uninjured but she remained rather shaken up by the events. She watched as the person she had only seconds ago nicknamed “asshole” screech away in their dirty Jeep. 

She realized that her car was a little scratched from the impact with the ditch, but overall in fine condition as she stepped out to examine the scene. Her short grey work bootlets sloshed in the snow. She felt completely enraged and so, so tired. 

After taking a minute to breathe she called the police to report the minor accident for her insurance. When they arrived ten minutes later they advised her to call a tow truck for her car as in the current weather she wouldn’t be able to dislodge it herself. They informed her that she would need to call a ride as they were “understaffed” and had to “deal with crime and save lives”. They left the scene of the accident while Amy looked through her contacts for someone who could take her to work. The store would be on track to open later than usual if she didn’t choose a ride carefully. 

Her first call would’ve been Adam if they hadn’t divorced, honestly it would’ve been too early in the morning to deal with him anyway. Glenn wouldn’t be able to get her for obvious reasons, Dina was out of town, and Cheyenne wasn’t scheduled to work. If Amy truly put extra thought to it, she wouldn’t want to ride with Cheyenne anyways as she was a terrifying person to be on the road with. 

As she scoured through her list of contacts, she eventually reached the number for Jonah Simms. 

Jonah. Of course.

She had to be a mile away from Cloud 9 and he was scheduled to work that day too. If she was thinking it through correctly he should’ve already been on his way to the store for his shift. He could swing by and get her on his way in. The wet snow began to stick to her clothes, starting to melt through the thin cotton jacket she wore to shield her from the cold. Amy hadn’t planned her winter wardrobe properly that morning. Her hands began to shake less from adrenaline and more from the freezing temperature as she tapped the call button on her phone screen. “Hey Amy, what’s up?” The voice on the other line answered entirely too energetically for how early it was. 

“Hey, I was on my way to open for Glenn this morning when some jackass pulled out in front of me. When I hit my breaks my car hit a patch of black ice. A tow truck is on its way but I was hoping you’d be able to take me to work” She explained quickly. Her first priority was to get to the store so she didn’t wish to elaborate too much.

“Shit, are you ok?” Jonah asked with genuine panicked worry in his tone. 

“Yeah I’m ok, my car’s a little beat up but I’ll be fine” she said, “I would’ve called someone else but it’s so early and I figured you were-“

“No no no, don’t even worry about that” he cut her off, “I’m about five minutes away from the store now”.

Amy gave him her relative location and then hung up the phone, thanking him. When she slid her phone into her pocket, she then wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to create additional warmth. The snow had yet to subside, still coming down fairly hard. She it melt in her previously damp hair and on through her shirt as she waited. It was eminent now, she could assume, that she would not be able to avoid having a head cold herself later in the week. 

In approximately four minutes from the end of their call, Jonah pulled into the gas station parking lot in which Amy was situated in front of. “Amy,” he called to her.

She waved him down the slight hill between the parking lot and shoulder of the road as the tow truck also pulled up. He stood by her side as a man named Gilbert put a clipboard in her hands to fill out basic information about her car, her insurance, and her contact info. When she was finished she traded the clipboard back for the man’s business card. “This’ll take a minute. In this weather people forget how to drive when they see a little white falling from the sky,” he said. Amy felt like it was a miniature jab her current situation.

“Oh, but this wasn’t my fault” She was quick to offer the explanation. 

“Of course it’s not,” he rolled his eyes. 

“No seriously, you see it was this other—“ Gilbert walked away in the middle of her sentence. She turned to Jonah with her mouth agape in annoyance. “Can you believe that guy? It wasn’t my fault!” 

“What a grouch,” Jonah offered.

“Woah Jonah, a grouch? Don’t be so harsh, he might hear you” She responded, laughing half-heartedly. “Thank you for this, by the way”

“Of course, it’s no problem” he said standing with his hands in his coat pockets. 

The two stood and watched the truck driver begin to latch up her car to the bed of the tow truck. Amy’s teeth began to chatter. “It’s freezing out” she said rubbing her wet cotton sleeves in a desperate attempt to generate heat. 

“Yeah, literally” Jonah gestured to the snow. He was quiet for a moment before actually looking over at her. “Is there a coat in your car?” 

Amy shook her head, “I rushed out of the house so quick I didn’t even think about grabbing a good one”.

Jonah removed his own and handed it over to her without a second thought, “Here, take mine”. 

“No I can’t do that, you need it” She said, pushing it politely away. 

“Amy, I want to give you my jacket” 

“Jonah, I’m fine. Thanks anyway.”

“You’re gonna get sick,” he stated. 

“I’ll be fine”

“Your jacket’s already soaked through—your hair’s wet...”

“Don’t worry about it”

“What if you get Emma sick?”

“She’ll deal with it”

“Fine,” Jonah said defeatedly, folding the bulky navy blue coat in his arms without putting it on. Amy looked over at him seemingly annoyed.

“Jonah, put your jacket back on. It’s nineteen degrees out.”

“Don’t need it,” he said focusing his gaze on the tow truck as snow stuck to his hair and button up shirt. 

“Jonah—“

“If you’re getting sick, I’m getting sick” 

“I’m an adult, I can handle a little cold weather” 

“Adults get sick, plus you’ve been colder for longer,” he squinted at the truck’s taillights in the dawn sky, “You know, I’ve always wanted to see what the world was like in Amy’s shoes anyway”.

She glanced at the unused coat in Jonah’s arms, teeth chattering. She felt the cold wind blowing in her eardrum causing a sharp pain. She gritted her teeth at the feeling, grinding her teeth together, “Fine” she finally said. She took the overcoat from his grasp. Jonah smirked softly at her while she put the too big for her overcoat on, zipping it as fast as possible. She caught his expression and rolled her eyes in the most harmless way possible. It was warm from his previous use of it. The jacket smelled very softly of his cologne but in a pleasant way, not in an embarrassingly overpowering way. 

“How is it?” He asked her, still grinning. 

“Warm.” Amy said looking away from him and recrossing her arms, taking a beat before saying “thank you”. 

“It’s nothing”, he said. 

After all was said and done at the scene of the accident, the car having been trucked away to the repair shop, the two coworkers made their way towards Jonah’s car. When they sat down Jonah put his key in the ignition hurrying to blast the heater. Amy noticed how red his face had gotten from the cold. She attempted to defrost her hands in front of the vent. “Jonah,” she caught his attention sincerely. He looked over to her, “Thank you.” 

“It’s no problem at all, seriously. You can call me anytime. I’m always happy to help,” she knew he really meant what he said to her. The radio started up in his car immediately at a loud volume. It wasn’t music like any normal person would listen to bright and early. 

“Sorry, I was listening to an audiobook during my commute,” he explained. Somehow that felt so Jonah. She grinned as he turned it off. Amy’s mood improved as they drove the mile to the store talking the whole way about some podcast Jonah had brought up—Jonah explained the podcast mainly while Amy pointed out how said podcast sounded completely boring. 

Amy didn’t return his jacket to him until they made it to the break room together, having opened the store just in time for the beginning of her shift. “Your jacket’s surprisingly comfortable,” she said. 

“Thanks?” Jonah offered, “I’m glad you took me up on my offer”. 

Amy had discarded her own wet cotton jacket in a plastic shopping bag, tying it off and putting it in her locker, buying another shirt from the store to get through the day not soaked. “How was the world in my shoes?” She asked him with a grin on her face.

Jonah squinted for effect as he poured two cups of coffee into styrofoam cups, “Surprisingly cold”. He handed her the beverage. 

“Thanks” She said taking a sip. 

—

“Well, I’ve got a sinus infection,” Jonah stated while sitting down next to Amy at a table in the break room. His face was still dusted red and burnt from the wind. 

“Nice,” She sipped from her coffee the morning after the accident. “Double ear infection,” she pointed to her ear drums. 

“Awesome,” Jonah said putting his hand out in which she gave him a high five. 

“You know, it didn’t have to be like this,” Amy reminded him. 

“And let you have all the fun? Besides, maybe my offering the coat to you saved you from full blown ear AND sinus infections. I’m happy to do my duty of sharing the pain with you.” 

Amy laughed, “I’m forever in your debt you selfless soul”. 

“Maybe not forever in your debt...”Jonah offered, “You see there’s this foreign cult classic I’ve been wanting to go see for years now doing a screening nearby this Tuesday. I really don’t want to go by myself, please go with me?”

“Joooonah,” She whined, putting her head down dramatically. He continued to look at her, putting on a pathetic pout. 

“Whatever, I’ll go to the dumb movie. I don’t have Emma next week anyways.”

“Cool, thanks Aim. You’re the best!” He said quickly, speed walking across the room to get another cup of coffee in an attempt to make it impossible for her to change her mind within the time it took him to preorder their tickets.

She sighed to herself watching him leave, he dramatically hovered his index finger over the phone from across the room playfully out of his direct earshot staring at her all the while. She couldn’t help grinning as she called out to him jokingly that she had changed her mind. He mouthed “I can’t hear you”, putting a hand behind his ear. He slammed the button to purchase the tickets, later texting her a picture of the order confirmation number.

—

Jonah from work // today, 6:08 am  
Jonah: The movie starts at 11 pm, pick you up at around 9:30 and we can grab a quick bite from somewhere before. The movie’s two and a half hours long. 

Amy Sosa // today, 6:14 am  
Amy: It starts at 11 pm?!? It’s two and a half hours long?!? 

—

Jonah could help laughing alone to himself at her response from his position stocking the seasonal aisle.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a ton for reading this!!


End file.
